Union County-raised singer Rose Kingsley to pay tribute to Sinatra

“Sinatra in Palm Springs – The Place He Called Home” is a documentary by Leo Zahn that premieres during Modernism Week and explores Sinatra’s deep attachment to the desert - where he lived for almost 50 years.
Courtesy of Leo Zahn.

Dubbed the female Frank Sinatra by press, Union County-raised jazz/opera singer Rose Kingsley has returned home to pay tribute to the Jersey music icon.

On May 10 at Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium, Kingsley will appear with crooner Richard Shelton in "Too Marvelous for Words," also a tribute to frequent Sinatra songsmith Johnny Mercer. For Kingsley, the program also is a return to Lincoln Center, where she has performed many times with Metropolitan Opera.

Those opera chops will come into play on May 11 at Stockton University's Dante Hall Theater in Atlantic City, where she will appear in "An Evening of Andrew Lloyd Webber" with Thomas Booth, a colleague from the Met.

Union County-raised Rose Kingsley will pay tribute to Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mercer on May 10 in New York City and to Andrew Lloyd Webber on May 11 in Atlantic City.(Photo: ~Courtesy of Rose Kingsley)

"If you enjoy the timeless music of Sinatra and Mercer, 'Too Marvelous for Words,' is a must-see show," Kingsley said. "You will leave the theater humming the songs that touched your heart and soul.

"You'll also enjoy an evening of Andrew Lloyd Webber's biggest hit songs from his Broadway shows, including 'Phantom of the Opera,' 'Evita,' 'Jesus Christ Super Star,' 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'Cats,' and more," she continued. "It will be an evening you will long remember."

Sinatra recorded more than a dozen of Mercer's songs, including "Day In, Day Out," "Laura," "Jeepers Creepers," "Blues in the Night," "Something's Gotta Give," "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)," "That Old Black Magic," "Autumn Leaves," "Day In Day Out," "One More for My Baby (and One More for the Road)," and, of course, "Too Marvelous for Words."

As a concert, "Too Marvelous for Words" was arranged by Bob Corwin, Mercer's music director and pianist for 20 years. Opening that show will be Dave Damiani, who has been described as "the future of the American Songbook."

Having once performed with Sinatra, Kingsley said she is excited to pay tribute to him this weekend, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"With a vocal four-octave range voice and the ability to tell a story, I have the unique talent that allows me to sing opera or change it up to jazz, blues and standards," she said. "These two different shows give me the opportunity to share my special singing and acting abilities with my audience."

Besides New Jersey and Mercer, Kingsley has something else in common with Sinatra. Raised in Springfield, she now lives in Ol' Blue Eyes' longtime residence of Palm Springs, Calif.

There she runs the International Opera Institute, a school for aspiring classical vocalists.